The Lucksmiths, Why That Doesn't Surprise Me (Drive-In):
On their fourth longplayer, the twee Aussie three go timeless pop and timelessly romantic, their arch-acoustic spare-snared-and-sweetly-sung pun-strung push-beat popsong-ism draped in syrupy strings and heartfelt horns and joined in sweet harmony by the singing of Architecture in Helsinki's Kellie Sutherland. While "timeless" has long been commandeered to essentially mean "sounds like it was recorded in the '60s," here it means regal and sumptuous and well-recorded and, well, slick. Timeless, in this circumstance, also addresses the lack of fashion found in the Lucksmiths' aw-shucksy craft. While the trio could easily be compared to any of the cardigan-clad combos stirring the hearts of awkward unathletic boys and wholesome whole-hearted Christian girls the world over, it's hard to imagine the Lucksmiths ever attaining hipster cultural cachet. Why That Doesn't Surprise Me is as charmingly unfashionable as pop music gets.  Anthony Carew